BURLINGTON, Vt.--The ECAC's next-to-worst team came out skating and fast here last night at Gutterson Field House, knotting the Harvard men's hockey team, 2-2, after the first period.

Vermont ran out of steam just as quickly, though, and dropped a 9-3 decision to the Crimson (17-4-2 overall, 14-3-1 ECAC).

The icemen remain in second place in the league standings, one-half game ahead of idle Cornell.

Harvard trails first-place RPI (17-1 ECAC), its opponent tonight in Troy, N.Y., by three and a half games.

The usual wrecking crew led the Crimson to victory. Tim Smith earned a hat trick, freshman Lane MacDonald had five assists and Scott Fusco had two goals and two beautiful passes to Smith for scores.

"Lane and I, we're just sideshows to the Scott Fusco show," Smith said after scoring his 24th, 25th and 26th goals." We re just his sidekicks."

After the Catamounts (7-19 overall 3-15 ECAC) played an excellent, aggressive first period, it appeared the visitors were in for more of a contest than they expected in what was supposed to be just a tune-up for tonight's showdown.

But Fusco taught the hosts some second-period lessons that would have intimidated a team much less talented than Vermont.

First, at the 5:19 mark Fusco came in after MacDonald fed him from the corner and beat Catamount goalic Tom Draper with a pinpoint shot high to the near post.

Eight minutes later, the Olympian connected on the power play from another short angle, upping the Crimson lead to 4-2.

"That was the difference from last year." Harvard Coach Bill Cleary said. "He [Fusco] gets the next one for us."

After Mike O'Connor connected for Vermont a minute and a half later, the Crimson's fourth line got a score when Peter Follows took the puck at the blue line and weaved through most of Burlington, including Draper, and deposited a backhander into an unguarded net.

With just seven seconds remaining in the second period, Fusco made his most miraculous play.

The junior got the puck on the left boards and moved toward the net faked, and moved a pass across the crease to Smith, who tapped the puck in.

"I was coming off the side," Fusco said. "I wanted to shoot, but the guy dropped in front of me and everyone was coming my way, so I just slid it back across."